Los Angeles-based metal band Cirith Ungol formed in 1981, taking their name from a tower which played a key role in author J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series. The lineup originally comprised singer Tim Baker, guitarist Jerry Fogle, ba**ist Michael Flint, and drummer Robert Garvin, and made its debut with the Enigma release Frost and Fire, followed three years later by King of the Dead. In the wake of 1986's One Foot in Hell, both Fogle and Flint left Cirith Ungol, and the band spent the next five years out of action, recruiting guitarist Jim Barraza and ba**ist Vernon Green for their fourth LP, Paradise Lost. In the wake of Barraza's departure, Cirith Ungol disbanded in May of 1982. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide